Revelling & Reckoning
by Miguel51
Summary: Clara just transferred to UPenn for her 3rd year of college, where she meets a fellow Stars Hollow escapee. An unlikely friendship is soon struck. Will it lead to something more? Or will people from their shared past ruin their possible future together?
1. Good Fortune

**Revelling & Reckoning**

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is not mine.

Summary: Clara Forester has just transfered to the University of Pennsylvania for her third year of college, where she meets up with a fellow Stars Hollow escapee. An unlikely friendship is soon struck. Will it lead to something more? Or will the people from their shared past ruin their possible future together?

**1 - Good Fortune**

"Clara Isabelle Forester," the Dean of Admissions muttered, reading the young blonde's papers with a slight frown. "Hmm..."

While she sat there forcing herself not to fidget, Clara couldn't help but wonder if the sound that the middle aged man in front of her had made was a good one or a bad. Her blue eyed gaze darted from diploma to diploma adorning the man's walls, sometimes noting a few pictures of the gray haired man with various people whom the young woman didn't recognize. She presumed they were former graduates from the school, though Clara couldn't be absolutely sure unless she asked, which was something the blonde was unwilling to do at this moment. No use unintentionally offending the man holding her future in his hands.

"Everything seems to be in order, Miss Forester," the Dean of Admissions declared, bringing her attention quickly back to him with a slight jolt. "Although some of your scores could be higher, I don't see your transfer from your previous university to here being a problem."

"You mean-" she began, unable to keep herself from grinning.

"Yes, Miss Forester," he politely smiled, nodding at her. "Welcome to the University of Pennsylvania."

A few days later found Clara moving into a dorm room, where she found out that no other student had been assigned to bunk with her due to an administrating mistake. Score! A whole room to herself, which she was looking forward to. Especially since her first dorm mates back from her freshman and sophomore years at her old school turned out to be total party whores, who kept coming and going at all hours of the night with no regard for the young blonde's study/sleeping schedule whatsoever. Clara decided that she'd enjoy this little bit of good luck while she could, because it was only a matter of time before the 'problem' was corrected and she'd again be burdened with the company of another person living with her.

_But until that happens, this room is Casa deForester,_ the twenty year old junior grinned to herself, falling backwards onto her bed.

After relishing the first restful sleep she'd had since visiting Stars Hollow over the summer, Clara got ready for her first class of the day, which happened to be Creative Writing, and it so happened that it was being taught by some supposedly famous author who Clara never heard of. She'd only signed up for the class to fill her schedule anyway, so if it ended up sucking Clara could simply drop it and use the time for sleeping in. Yay for thinking ahead! Besides, it sounded like fun since Clara had always been a bit of a dreamer throughout middle school, as well as high school. She was always writing little stories back then. While some were silly, others were just too personal. So never once did she dare to share any of those stories with anybody out of fear of being ridiculed. Not with her big brother Dean, who she was extremely close with while growing up. Nor their parents, or their older sibling, Sam. She had been tempted once to share a couple with Rory Gilmore, whom Clara had idolized back in her early teens, but that was before the waif with striking blue eyes had destroyed her brother's marriage. She lost the youngest Forester's respect for that action, even if Clara did like Rory more than Lindsay for the longest time.

"Must be early," the strawberry blonde mused aloud, arriving at the class before everybody else, including their professor. She shrugged then made her way to the seat of her choice, which was situated halfway up and to the left side of the room. Not too close to the front, while still close enough to hear whatever the instructor was saying. A sweet seat, if she did say so herself.

After taking a moment to gloat, she glanced at her watch to see that class didn't start for another ten minutes or so. Not really knowing what else to do until then, Clara decided to listen to her iPod to whittle away the time. Her earbuds in place and playlist selected, the strawberry blonde sat quietly and hummed along with the music while doodling in her notebook. As the song switched from Broken Social Scene's _Art House Director_ to _Black Sheep_ by Metric, she was vaguely aware of several other students now filing into the room. She smiled to herself while continuing to doodle in her notebook, knowing that she should probably be getting prepared for the class now. This fact didn't stop her from doodling though since today would probably be spent on orientation and such. No biggie, no hurry.

The next song to start playing was David Bowie's _Suffragette City_, which Clara always got the compulsion to sing along with. This time was no different as all the other times, although she did so alot quieter than how she usually did when she was alone. Her favorite part of the song was about to come up (you know which part), and that was when she chose to look up from her notebook.

"Wham-bam, thank you, ma'am," she whispered along with Bowie, her blue eyes wide at the sight of a familiar dark haired man practically sauntering into the classroom. She removed the earbuds just as he began to write his name across the blackboard, confirming that Clara's eyes weren't playing a trick on her.

"Now I know that many of you were expecting somebody more famous to be teaching this course over the year, but since he just upped and quit two weeks before the school year even began, you guys are stuck with me," the dark haired man smirked, looking strangely comfortable in front of the assembled students, despite the fact that he was dressed pretty much like any one of them. "I'm Jess Mariano, and this is Creative Writing."

_There is no way in hell I'm dropping this course now,_ Clara thought with a smirk of her own, thanking whichever deity had chosen to bestow all of this recent good fortune apon the strawberry blonde.

**End scene.**

**And there you go, the first official Cless fic has begun.**

**Reviews are appreciated. Thanks!**

**Track 1 - 'Good Fortune' by PJ Harvey (from 'Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea')**


	2. Risque

_A/N- Okay, I wanna thank all of you who actually reviewed the first chapter. Your praise is much appreciated. I had alot of fun writing that firstt chapter, and I hope you guys continue to read my story. Now without further adieu, here's chapter two. Enjoy!_

**2 - Risque**

"And that sound means our time is up, people," Jess announced, leaning lazily against his desk. "If you have any questions, come see me after class. If by some small chance that my mood is a good one, I may even answer them."

The remark earned Jess a chuckle from his already departing students with the exception of a certain strawberry colored blonde, who was just sitting there in a slight daze. Feeling a little bit like a stalker for some reason, Clara watched the former 'Menace of Stars Hollow' meander around the desk to take his seat and regard the little _Dell_ laptop that had sat atop the desk for the entire duration of the class. She patiently waited until all of her fellow students had gone before beginning her approach, then stopped at the realization that she was lacking an opening line. The young strawberry blonde furrowed her brow in concentration, wondering how to break the ice when her former crush's voice snapped her back to attention.

"Don't you have another class to get to, miss?" Jess asked without looking directly at her, dark brown eyes plastered to the screen in front of him.

_Miss?_ Clara thought in surprise, raising an eyebrow at that. _Dude, you're only, like, six years older than me!_

"Miss?"

"Oh, I have an entire hour and a half before my next class," Clara smirked at his distracted tone, now knowing exactly how to open the coming conversation. "So..."

"If you have a question, just ask it already," he muttered, his attention still diverted away from her. "I don't have all day, you know."

The flaxon hair junior smiled, happy to see that his snarkiness was alive and well, then decided to finish her question. "...is Jess your real name?"

"Uh-huh," he replied, his full attention still not on her.

"Do you like it?"

She waited a moment to see how Jess reacted, but only received a blank expression as he finally met her gaze. "Excuse me?"

"I asked if you liked your name," the youngest Forester grinned, finding it hard not to giggle at his deepening confusion. Clara could see he was trying to place her face, catching a bare flicker of recognition in his chocolate colored irises. She decided to help him along just a little bit further. "Or would you rather it be Bill? Frank? Mike? Bob? Ed?"

"Mini-Forester," he groaned in sudden recognition, slumping into his chair slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually, the name's Clara," she reminded, her grin widening at him finally remembering who she was. "And I go to school here. You?"

"Classroom. Desk," he pointed to both in turn, already exasperated. "You do the math."

"But I thought this was Creative Writing?" Clara challenged, raising an eyebrow.

"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in," he sighed in defeat, doing that movie quote thing everybody who'd lived in Stars Hollow seemed to have a gift for. Then again, it was Star Hollow after all, which was located in the middle of absolutely nowhere. So watching movies was probably the only thing to do between all those damned festivals Taylor seemed to throw on a monthly basis. "You know what I meant, Mini-Forester."

"Yeah, I did, but it's just so much fun to annoy you," she gleefully admitted, then stepped up to stand directly in front of his desk and pressed her index finger against the back of his laptop. "Ooh, what'll happen if I do this."

"Could you not do that?" Jess grumbled, reaching forward to prevent the girl from trying to close his laptop on him. "You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Sure, I have," Clara countered, her face beginning to hurt from the constant grinning. He shot a dubious look her way. "I've gotten taller, older and wiser, not to mention much more mature," she clarified, earning herself a snort from Jess. The strawberry blonde furrowed her brow before ammending her statement with a pout. "Fine, I'm just older and taller."

"Barely," he scoffed in amusement.

"You're mean," she pointed out.

"You're the one who started talking to me, remember?" Jess reminded in a dismissive manner, returning his attention back to the laptop in front of him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do before my next class arrives at eleven."

"Oh, please, you're probably just playing solitaire on that thing," Clara snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, it's minesweeper, and I was doing pretty damn good until you interupted my flow," he deadpanned, looking up at her again. "Is there any particular reason you're still harassing me, Mini-For-"

"Clara, my name is Clara, not Mini-Forester," she interjected with mock sternness, closing the laptop so suddenly that Jess barely got his fingers out of the way in time. "And I was wondering if you wanted to have a coffee, catch up-"

"We barely knew each before, Mi...Clara," he interupted, quickly correcting himself at her glare before continuing. "And since all I wanted to do the first, last and only time I encountered you was throw your squeaky little butt into oncoming traffic, I doubt that we'll bond all that much over a simple cup of coffee now. Don't you agree?"

"Fine, a Chai latte then," Clara countered, unable to stop herself because hassling Jess was far too much fun to resist. That, and she really wanted a Chai latte right now, too. She could almost taste the delicious drink already. Mmm...if only she wasn't always so damned broke! Oh, the miserable life of a college student!

"Damn, you're a persistent one, I'll give you that," he groaned, grabbing her attention once more. He rose from his chair and grabbed his black vintage leather jacket from the nearby rack where it was hung upon. Clara was surprised he still had that old beaten up thing. She had to admit though, it still looked good on him. "Okay, fine, a Chai latte, but after this we're going back to being completely ignorant of each other's existence. Our only contact will be in this class room from then on. Agreed?"

"Yeah, sure, okay," the blonde nodded, smiling at him in victory. She spun on her heel, walking towards the door. "Oh, you're buying, by the way."

"Of course, I am," Jess sighed while following after her, not sounding at all surprised by this revelation.

**End scene.**

**Yeah, I know. I kind of channelled JavaJunkie with Cless's banter there, didn't I? Only realized that after I actually finished writing the chapter though. Oh, well!**

**Feel free to review, people!**

**Track 2 - 'Risque' by Cute Is What We Aim For (from 'Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch')**


	3. That's Not My Name

_A/N- A little bit of Rory and Dean bashing ahead. Nothing all that harsh or lengthy, but I just thought I should warn any possible Narco people that may be reading__. Anyhow, enjoy this new update!_

**3 - That's Not My Name**

"One Chai latte, please," Clara intoned happily to the coffee vender when they arrived at the nearest kiosk in the quad, and casually hiked her thumb at Jess. "Oh, and he's buying."

The kiosk operator nodded at her, then turned to Jess. "And you, sir?"

"Plain black coffee, if you got it," the former hooligan answered with a slight scowl, which made the young woman giggle.

"Coming right up," the vender replied, immediately getting to work on their orders.

While their drinks were being made, Clara glanced up at the clouds and let her thoughts drift to when she'd first met her current coffee companion. The memory of how flustered and annoyed he'd been with her back then brought a smile to her lips. Not alot had changed between them since that time, she realized.

"So what ARE you doing at UPenn?" Jess asked, bringing her attention back to the present. He handed Clara a cup filled with her drink of choice, and they both began walking away from the kiosk.

"Thanks," the strawberry blonde smiled appreciatively, taking a small sip before stopping at a nearby bench. Clara set her books down and then sat with one leg tucked under her thigh, so that her body would be turned to Jess while they spoke. It probably looked uncomfortable to most other people, but the college junior found it to be quite the opposite. Regular sitting positions were for chumps anyway. "You mean, my major, right?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded, then took a small gulp of his coffee before sitting down on the other side of her books in a slightly slouched, but relaxed posture.

"Art and Art History, like Bette Porter on _the L Word_," she said, then added with a little mischievious smile at his blank expression. "Oh, you never heard of-"

"I know what _the L Word_ is," he replied with a slightly teasing tone, quirking an eyebrow. "I just didn't realize you swung that way."

"Oh, no, I'm completely straight, I just like the drama," Clara explained, amused by the weird conclusion he'd jumped to. "Although if the right girl came along, you never know."

"We've gone off topic," Jess pointed out, his trademark smirk beginning to show.

"Anyway, as I was saying before you accused me of being a lesbian-"

"Hey, I'm not judging," he interupted, leering at her.

"You, sir, are an ass," she retorted, sticking out her tongue.

"So much for having an adult conversation with you," the writing teacher chuckled.

"Actually, I'll have you know that by the letter of the law, I've been an official adult for the last two years now, but if that's not proof enough for you, bucko," Clara stated, suddenly pointing at her chest. "Then take a look at these."

Clara almost laughed out loud when his gaze fell towards her cleavage of their own accord, quickly followed by Jess rolling his eyes at the realization of what had just happened. "Aw, jeez!"

"I can't believe you fell for that," the strawberry blonde snickered before bringing the cup of Chai to her lips. "Perv."

"You know, I can't help but wonder what your brother would say about us hanging out like this," he smirked, thinking to turn the tables on her.

"You mean, all date like and stuff?" she asked without missing a beat, returning the smirk in kind.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I mean in general. He and I weren't exactly each other's biggest fans back in Stars Hollow."

"Meh, whatever," she shrugged, non-chalant. "Besides, it's not like he has the right to judge anybody else after having committed adultry with Little Miss Teflon, right?"

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," her coffee companion winced, surprisingly showing sympathy for his former rival. "But don't you think you're being a bit harsh on Bag Boy?"

"One, his name is Dean, so don't call him that," Clara said with a raised finger, then brought up another finger right after. "And two, no, I'm not being harsh. Just honest. It's that whole 'don't throw stones if you live in a glass house' sort of deal, you know?" She lifted a third finger up. "And three, if you're stupid enough to fall for the charms of a fickle girl like Rory Gilmore, you deserve a metaphorical slap upside the head. No offense."

"You are a very forthright, if somewhat peculiar girl, Mini-Forester," Jess stated, kind of startling Clara by him not jumping to his ex-girlfriend's defense. Maybe there was hope for the guy after all.

"Thank you for noticing," the blonde grinned after recovering from her surprise, then lifted her plastic stir straw up between her fingers and flicked it at him, where it bounced harmlessly off his shoulder onto the concrete. "And it's Clara, not Mini-Forester, you jerk."

"Well, as much fun as this is, I really do have to get some work done before my next class shows up," he said, rising from the bench. "See you around, Mini-Forester."

"See you around, jerk," Clara returned, choosing to remain on the bench by herself and enjoy the mild Pennsylvania weather until her next class started.

**End scene.**

**Yeah, I know that was a weird way to end the chapter, but oh, well!. Anyhow, please feel free to review. Thanks!**

**Track 3 - 'That's Not My Name' by the Ting Tings (from 'We Started Nothing')**


	4. Little Sister

_A/N- This chapter's got a bit of a filler feeling to it, but I find myself oddly proud of it for some odd reason. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it, too._

**4 - Little Sister**

_Well, that was an interesting first week,_ an exhausted Clara groaned, plopping backwards onto her bed. While staring up at the ceiling, she absently kicked her shoes off and then proceeded to stretch out her body like a cat would do before curling up in to a fetal position and quickly falling asleep. She woke with a start at the sound of her cellphone going off, Dashboard Confessional's _Don't Wait_ filling the room as she fumbled in the near darkness in search of the damned thing.

"Hello?" Clara greeted groggily, having finally found it in her bag at the foot of the bed.

"Hey, kiddo," a familiar voice returned over the line. "It's about time you picked up!"

"Hi, Sam," she replied, sitting up in her bed to glance over at the alarm clock. The red numbers read twenty minutes after eight, which meant that Clara had slept for about three or four hours. "What's up, sis?"

"Just calling to see how my baby sister is doing," the eldest Forester sibling answered cheerily, causing the youngest of the three to roll her eyes in annoyance.

"You couldn't have done this earlier in the week?" Clara muttered, struggling to shake her tiredness off. "Like, when I'm not completely wiped out from my classes?"

"Aw, is Clara Bear tiwerd?" Sam taunted in a voice usually reserved for three year olds. "Do you want me to wead you a stowy?"

"I hate you," the blonde sneered, though the statement lacked any real malice.

"Alright, I'll stop," her sister laughed.

"Thanks," she replied dryly, then continued. "Anyway, what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Well, I'm in the area and thought I'd drop in for a quick visit," Samantha began.

"But you don't know the address to my dorm," the younger Forester finished.

"Exactly."

"Okay, listen up, 'cause I'm not going to be held responsible if you get yourself lost," Clara sighed, finally feeling herself waking up fully.

After giving her big sister the proper directions to her dorm, Clara rose from the bed and walked over to her mini-fridge for something cold to drink. She had just finished half of her pop when that damned cellphone went off again, but this time only for a text.

_[downstairs. lets go 4 supR, kid]_

"Alright, fine," Clara mumbled while texting back her reply. She pocketed her cellphone, then grabbed her coat and headed downstairs to where her twenty nine year old sister was waiting for her in the parking lot. Sam looked pretty much the same as when Clara had last seen her. She was the polar opposite of Clara in many ways. Where Clara was a relatively short five feet and three inches in height, Samantha stood a solid six or seven inches taller than her youngest sibling. And while Clara was far from being overweight, her sister had a model's frame and made the strawberry blonde feel fat sometimes. Despite the occasional feelings of inadequacy that her statuesque older sister caused her though, Clara loved Sam to bits.

"It's about time you got your little butt out here," Samantha Forester declared in a teasing tone. "I was afraid I'd have to go up and drag you out here, Clara Bear."

"I really wish you wouldn't call me that," Clara complained, running her fingers through her flaxon colored tresses. "I'm hardly a kid anymore, you know."

"You'll always be the baby to me, Clara Bear," Sam smiled, stepping forward to embrace her tightly. "God, I missed you, kiddo."

"Well, if you'd visit Mom and Dad more often, then we'd probably see each other more," came her terse reply, which Clara immediately regretted at the taller woman's grim expression. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," her sister sighed, shaking her head with a rueful smile playing apon her lips. "It's not your fault they don't agree with how I'm living my life. I'm just sorry that you and Dean are caught in the middle."

"I really don't see what their problem is," Clara grumbled, annoyed at the fact that her family had become so estranged in the past few years. "I mean, you're gay. So what? You're still Sam. It's not like you married one person while you were still in love with another person, right?"

"Are you ever going to ease up on Dean about that?" Samantha admonished, not for the first time. "Because you gotta know that I won't put up with that shit, kiddo."

"I'm just saying," the youngest Forester muttered, looking down at the concrete. Sam could always make her feel about three inches tall whenever Clara said something out of line. No one else had that ability other than her beloved eldest sibling.

"Okay, enough with all this serious crap," Sam declared, wrapping an arm around the shorter Clara to lead her towards the familiar Honda Civic that she'd owned for the last several years. "Let's go explore the City of Brotherly Love for someplace decent to eat."

"Are you ever going to get a new car?" Clara teased after entering the vehicle.

"Hey, don't diss the Civic, Clara Bear," the elder Forester girl chided, then petted the dashboard in a loving fashion. "Ignore the mean little smurf, baby. I still love you."

The younger Forester girl laughed out loud at Samantha's antics, realizing only now how much she had truly missed her crazy older sister.

**End scene.**

**If you were expecting some Cless interaction this chapter, sorry to disappoint, but I'll make it up to you guys next update. Stay tuned. **

**Oh, and for those of you who need a visual on Samantha's appearance, go to my profile page for the link. That's Lauren Lee Smith, if you don't recognize her. Heh, casting is fun!**

**Anyway, feel free to review. Thanks!**

**Track 4 - 'Little Sister' by Queens of the Stone Age (from 'Lullabies to Paralyze')**


	5. Too Little, Too Late

_A/N- Okay, I feel a bit iffy on this one, but I hope you guys still enjoy it._

**5 - Too Little, Too Late**

"A sports bar?" Clara asked with a confused frown. "Really?"

"And what's wrong with a sports bar?" Samantha asked back, defensive of her choice in eating venue.

"Nothing, if you just want greasy pizza, spicy chicken wings and stale beer nuts," the younger girl shrugged, following after the older girl. "It's just that when you said that we were looking for a decent place to eat, I was thinking more along the lines of _Olive Garden_, or something."

"Oh, come on, this place looks promising," Sam remarked, stepping through the door with her baby sister in tow. She stopped to regard a waitress, nodding in appreciation at the twenty something woman walking by. "Very promising indeed."

"I swear, you're worse than a guy sometimes," Clara stated, rolling her eyes.

"You're snippy when you're hungry, Clara Bear," her older sister retorted.

"Oh, whatever, Sammy," she sighed, her earlier feeling of fatigue now replaced with one of near starvation. And yes, Clara was well aware of how dramatic she was being, but the strawberry blonde hadn't eaten anything since just before eleven o'clock that morning. So there. "Let's find a place to sit, 'cause I'm famished."

"Ha! See that, baby sister? They have more than just greasy pizza, spicy wings and beer nuts here," her sister declared while making their way towards an open booth, pointing to a person who was in the process of eating a small steak with fries.

"Sorry, please excuse my sister," an embarrassed Clara apologized to the confused looking man, pushing the taller Forester woman away from his table. "She's just a little, um, 'special', if you know what I mean."

"Hey, not cool, baby sis," Sam cried, playfully indignant as they slid into an empty booth a moment later. "Funny? Yes. Cool? Not so much."

"Shut up and look at the menu, you ding-bat," Clara retorted, sitting opposite her sister. Soon afterword, a waitress appeared and took their order, the younger Forester girl shaking her head at the elder as the statuesque girl shamelessly flirted with their unsuspecting server.

"Thanks, you're a doll," the auburn haired Samantha said with a wink, then grinned up at the young woman who had taken their order.

"No problem," the waitress smiled back, taking her flirtations in stride. "I'll be right back with those beers."

"You are incorrigible," the younger Forester girl said, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hey, my incorrigibility got you a beer, didn't it?" Sam smirked with a mischievious glint in her blue eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for that, Sammy," Clara laughed.

After sharing a meal and catching up with each other's lives, Sam suggested they play some pool to which Clara readily agreed. She was pretty good with a cue and thoroughly enjoyed hustling arrogant guys who tend to underestimate a girl's ability at the game. The looks on their faces were always so funny following the butt kicking that Clara and Sam put to them, both of whom having learned the game from their late grandfather back when they used to lived in Chicago.

"Yeah, that's how you do it, baby," a guy with dirty blonde hair cried, having just vanquished his latest opponent. "Okay, who's up next?"

Clara shared a look with her older sister, then nodded when a smirking Samantha gestured for her to go ahead and play. Clara removed her denim jacket, then walked over to stand in front of the guy, who was built like a linebacker.

"Hey, there, missy," the burly blonde man smirked, looking Clara up and down in a leering fashion. "This ain't no game for little girls now."

"Well, we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" Clara asked, coyly placing an index finger to her lips and winking up at her opponent. _This is gonna be fun!_

He scoffed, "What do you wanna bet?"

"Twenty to the winner?" Clara suggested.

"Make it thirty, and you're on," he countered.

"Agreed," she nodded, reaching out to shake his hand.

"Don't be too hard on him now, Clara Bear," Sam called from her seat.

"Shut it, Spammy," she called back while grabbing a cue from the rack on the wall, then turned to the much taller man who was her opposition. "You might want to break, 'cause honey, it's gonna be your only turn."

The guy simply chuckled before bowing out of the way to wordlessly tell Clara that he was forfeiting his right at the break. He obviously didn't take her seriously, but that soon changed as Clara proceeded to successively sink each and every one of her balls on the first turn.

"Holy shit," the guy whispered in shock.

"Thanks for playing, big guy," Clara beamed up at him, patting his chest in a condescending manner. She then held her hand out with the palm up. "Now pay up, 'cause I'm starting to get thirsty here."

The guy stepped forward and straightened up to his full height, looming even higher over the already much shorter Clara. "Why you little-"

"Hey, now, buddy," a familiar voice commanded, his back to Clara as he stepped between her and the neanderthal. Even with his back to her though, the strawberry blonde almost immediately knew her rescuer's identity. "Don't be such a sore loser."

"Dude, she hustled me," the neanderthal cried, sounding like a little kid.

"She beat you fair and square, buddy. She also tried to warn you beforehand as well, if memory serves me correctly," the dark-haired man stated, then glanced over his shoulder to smirk at Clara. "Though I do have to say that she could ease up on the taunting."

"Oh, whatever," Clara snorted, then yelped at Sam poking her in the ribs unexpectedly. She glared back at her elder sister, who was giving the younger a stern look in return. After silently arguing for about ten seconds, Clara turned to the two men who'd watched the entire exchange, one in quiet amusement and the other in confusion. "Fine, sorry for being a poor winner."

"Now pay the young lady and then we can all go our own ways," her rescuer said, turning to regard the larger man.

"If you weren't my favorite professor, I'd rip you a new one, Mr. Mariano," the burly man declared before slapping the money down on the pool table and stomping away in a huff.

"And for that, I'm grateful," Jess muttered with obvious relief, then turned again to face Clara and her sister. "Word of advice, Mini-Forester; if a guy is three times your size, it's not a good idea to taunt him."

"She's always had a big mouth, this one," Sam stated, coming up from behind to hug her youngest sibling around the shoulders. "Then again, Clara Bear here is the baby of the family after all. It's kind of her job to be a pest, you know."

"Please, shut up," Clara begged, feeling herself go beet red. "Ignore her."

"Actually, I wouldn't know," Jess said with that seemingly ever present smirk, then quickly added in explanation. "I was an only child up until a few years ago."

"Oh, sometimes I wish I was an only child, but then I remember how much fun it is to embarrass Clara Bear and Dean the Bean that I get over that desire pretty quick," Sam replied before releasing her hold on Clara. She then held her hand out towards their dark haired hero in greeting. "Hi, I'm Samantha Forester."

"Jess Mariano," he nodded, shaking her hand. "Good to meet you."

"Jess Mariano, huh? Why does that name sound familiar?" Sam frowned in consideration, then brightened suddenly. Much to her younger sister's chagrin, Samantha turned to look directly at Clara. "Hey, isn't that the name you used to write all over your notebook in junior high?"

"Excuse me, but I have to go to the bathroom and drown myself in one of the sinks now," a thoroughly humiliated Clara muttered before stalking away, silently cursing her sister's habit of getting carried away in the moment. _And she says I'm the one with a big mouth? Thanks alot, Sam!_

"Ah, shit," she heard Samantha swear from behind her, telling Clara that the older Forester girl had just realized she may have gone too far with her teasing this time.

**End scene.**

**Thanks for reading, now please review.**

**Track 5 - 'Too Little, Too Late' by Metric (from 'Live It Out')**


	6. Nowhere With You

**6 - Nowhere With You**

Clara stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, wondering what to do next. Her reaction to Samantha blabbing to Jess about her old crush on him was a tad overdramatic in retrospect, but what was done was done. And now the blonde had to think of some way to save face when she finally decided to re-emerge from her little retreat in the woman's washroom. She closed her eyes and shook her head, completely at loss of what to do next, when the door opened, momentarily allowing Sandweaver's _Red Band_ to be heard before closing once more. The youngest Forester opened her eyes again to find her sister's reflection staring back at her in the mirror, a timid expression on her face.

"Hey, kiddo," Sam greeted from behind her, the older sibling's trepidation clearly apparent. "How you doing?"

"I'm fine," Clara assured, turning around to lean back against the sink counter to regard the taller red-headed woman. "A little embarrassed now that my Creative Writing professor probably thinks that I'm some sort of crazy stalker girl, but things could be worse, I guess."

"Yeah, sorry about that," her sister apologized with a cringe. "You know how I don't have a filter between my brain and my mouth after getting a few beers in me."

"Not one of your better traits, Spammy," she agreed, knowing that Sam hadn't meant to do any harm. "You may want to work on that."

"Duly noted, Clara Bear," Sam smiled, looking relieved that Clara wasn't going off the deep end and verbally ripping the older Forester femme to shreds for her earlier slip of the tongue. "So, what now?"

"I don't know about you, but I could use another beer," Clara admitted, then stopped to reach up and pat her sister on the shoulder. "By the way, you're buying the rest of our drinks tonight."

"Brat," muttered Samantha as though expecting this turn in events, rolling her eyes.

"That's the price you pay for being a big mouth," the strawberry blonde retorted with a laugh before exitting the washroom, dragging the other girl out by the cuff of her jacket. While weaving their way through the crowd on the way to the bar, the younger of the pair spied a glance at the pool tables where they'd last encountered Jess, but only found the neanderthal and his friends milling about the area. He probably booked it out the door after Samantha blabbed about Clara's past crush on him. Not that Clara could blame the guy. Weird and awkward situation.

"What are we looking at?" Sam asked in her ear, no doubt wearing that teasing grin.

"Nothing special," Clara shrugged, then turned to face her sister and shoved the red head playfully towards their destination. "Now get moving already, woman!"

Seeing that there was nothing more she could do where Jess was concerned, Clara decided to just enjoy the rest of her night out with Sam. Who knew when another opportunity to do so would come up next? Besides, she could deal with whatever fallout from this incident the next time Clara saw him, which would most likely be in class on Monday.

Three hours later found the two Forester girls outside the bar, arguing on how to get back to Clara's dorm room.

"You are not drivin', and that's that," declared a tipsy Clara, snatching the car keys from the taller red-headed woman. "Ha-ha, look what I got!"

"I am not leaving my baby here to get broken into," a very inebriated Samantha insisted, then twirled around to face her younger sister so fast that the red-head almost fell over. "Now gimme my keys back!"

"Nah-uh, we're getting a cab!"

"Give 'em here, you lil' brat!"

"Hey, you should know better than to drive drunk, Spammy!" Clara exclaimed, now struggling under her sister's added weight as her red-headed sibling had jumped on the younger Forester's back in an attempt to retrieve her car keys. It probably looked ridiculous to anybody watching, because it certainly made Clara feel that way at the moment. "Gah, get off me, you slag!"

"Not 'til I get my keys back!"

"Never!"

"Check it out, girl-on-girl action," some guy quipped, causing both girls to stop their shenanigans to glare at him. "What? Aww! Please don't stop on my account, ladies!"

"Shut up, Chris," stated Jess, having just arrived to stand beside the pervert. "He's an idiot. Feel free to ignore him. Or hit him. Whatever."

"Hey!" Chris cried, indignant.

"Well, hello there, Teach," Sam greeted, hopping off the strawberry blonde's back to saunter over towards him. Clara watched her older sister lightly gripped Jess by the sleeve of his leather jacket, feeling her stomach tighten at the sight of her supposedly gay sister coming onto her Creative Writing professor. What kind of game was she playing at here? "Clara Bear won't give me my car keys back. Could ya do somethin' about that, please?"

"You probably shouldn't be driving in your condition," he countered, taking a step back out of her grasp.

"Thank you," Clara said with a triumphant grin. _Take that, Sammy!_

"Fine then, I guess I'm sleeping in my car tonight!" Sam cried in dismay, crossing her arms to pout. She could act so immature sometimes, despite her status as the eldest of James and Lydia Forester's three children. It was just plain embarrassing.

Jess shot a questioning look at the younger of the two girls, to which Clara pointed at the parked Civic. "She doesn't want to leave without her baby."

"Okay then," Jess nodded, who then turned to his perverted friend. "Go find Matt. Tell him I'm helping one of my students get home."

"Uh-huh," he leered, waggling his eyebrows.

"Shut it, and go already," Jess grumbled, rolling his eyes. "See you back at Truncheon."

While Jess was talking to his friend, Clara began thinking of what had occurred earlier that night at the pool table and felt herself blush. He must think that she was a total freak, yet here he was helping them out. She didn't quite know what to make of this developement. If only she could think straight. Damned stupid alcohol inhibited brain!

"Clara!" Sam cried, poking her in the ribs.

"What?" Clara shouted back.

"Quit zoning out and give Jess the keys."

"Oh, right," she nodded with a sheepish little smile, holding out the keys to her sister's Honda Civic for their brand new designated driver. "Here."

"Thanks," he nodded back, their fingers brushing while taking the keys from her. She felt her cheeks flush, praying to whichever deity that may be listening for Jess not to notice. Of course, those prayers went unanswered. "You okay there, Mini-Forester?"

"I'm fine," Clara lied, then swiftly turned away to grab her now snickering older sister by the shoulders and began leading the taller girl towards the car. "Come on, let's get this lush back to my dorm room."

With the exception of the radio playing in the background, the car ride back to the dormatory was quiet. Jess seemed to be concentrating on the traffic ahead of them, while Clara kept hitting the scan button before finally deciding on a station playing _Australia_ by the Shins, which happened to be one of Clara's favorite songs. Their driver scoffed in amusement, causing the strawberry blonde to bristle for some reason.

"What?" Clara demanded.

"Nothing," Jess smirked, shooting a sidelong glance her way. She scowled in return, bringing a chuckle from him. "No, really, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing," she insisted. "You got something against the Shins, dude?"

"No, it's just that I never took you for a fan of these guys is all," he laughed, his eyes once again drawn forward. "You look more like someone who listens to Avril Lavigne."

"You are infuriating," Clara huffed, not really knowing why she was getting so worked about something so stupid. She scowled at the rebel-turned-writing-professor for a moment, who met her gaze with that infamous smirk, which then caused her to laugh softly under her breath.

"If you two kids are done flirting, the dorm parking lot is coming up next," Sam stated from the backseat, suddenly reminding the pair of her presence.

_I really do hate you sometimes, Sammy,_ a now blushing Clara thought, unable to meet Jess' gaze out of embarrassment. Jess pulled the vehicle into the student parking lot a few quiet moments later, the atmosphere uneasily quiet after the engine was shut off.

"Okay, lemme out, I gotta pee," Sam insisted, kicking at the back of Clara's seat as their driver stepped out of vehicle.

"Ew, that's a TMI moment, Sammy," said the younger Forester in mock disgust, hurriedly exitting the car as well.

"Whatever, Clara Bear," she replied before dashing into the building, leaving Jess and Clara standing outside the Civic.

The remaining pair made their way in front of the parked car and stood in an awkward quiet, neither willing to meet the other's glance since Samantha remark just two or three minutes earlier.

"So, I guess I should give these back," he said, finally breaking the silence while handing over the car keys.

"How you getting back to...Truncheon, was it?" Clara inquired, worried on how he'd get home. She felt like an ass for not thinking of that beforehand, a bit ashamed at only now realizing Jess had probably gone out of his way to help the blonde and her sister get home.

"I'll manage," Jess assured, shooting her that smirk again. "Goodnight, Clara."

"Goodnight, Teach," the blonde whispered, watching him walk away. She turned towards her building after losing sight of Jess in the night, intent on sleeping in the next morning. It wasn't until she was in her dorm room that a small but important detail dawned on her. Clara sat down on the edge of her mattress and stared straight ahead, absently listening her now passed out sister snoring softly on the opposite bed. A little smile came Clara's lips before she reached over and shut off her desk lap, not bothering to change out of her clothes. As sleep threatened to overtake Clara, her last thought of the night was a pleasant one.

**End scene.**

**Thanks for reading, now please review. See you next update.**

**Track 6 - 'Nowhere With You' by Joel Plaskett Emergency (from 'Make A Little Noise - EP')**


	7. How You Like Me Now

**7 - How You Like Me Now**

_Busy, busy, busy,_ a slightly frazzled but content Clara Forester sighed on the way back towards her dorm room. It had been a little over three weeks since her beloved older sister Samantha had visited and during that time the short college junior had quickly fallen into a routine that suited Clara just fine, thank you very much. Every day Clara got out of bed, took a shower, ate breakfast (when she had the time), attended classes (that took up the majority of the day until sundown), rushed back to study in her dorm room (or, if it wasn't too crowded and she wasn't too tired, the library), only to finish up by going to bed to begin the entire process all over again. Unless it was the weekend. Then she just slept in until noon, then proceeded to either kill time by catching up on her studies or reading a book with her music on full blast. And since Friday meant that there no classes the next day and she was already caught up on her studies, Clara fully intended to do her usual aforementioned weekend activities. Woo-hoo!

Upon entering her dorm room though Clara discovered that those plans would have to wait until she dealt with this newest twist in her life, which just so happened to come in the form of an olive skinned girl sitting cross-legged on top of the bed opposite her own.

"Hi," Clara greeted, gently closing the door behind herself.

"Hi," the other girl parroted with a wave. "I'm Alice."

"Clara," she returned.

"I'm your new dorm mate," Alice added.

"Hmm, I was wondering when those idiots would get around to fixing their screw up," Clara sighed in disappointment, then winced at the realization of just how rude that must have sounded. "Sorry, I-"

"You were hoping that you'd have this spiffy huge room all to yourself for the entire semester," her new roomie smirked knowingly. "Am I right?"

"Pretty much," the strawberry blonde admitted. "I meant no offense though."

"Absolutely none taken," Alice said with a dismissive snort. "But I would like to know what you Pennsylvania kids do for fun on the weekend."

"Actually, I'm from Illinois. Chicago to be exact," Clara correct before quickly ammending that statement. "Although I did live in Stars Hollow, Conneticut until I finished high school."

"Cool, I'm a Detroit girl myself," the new girl informed, rising from her bed to stand in front of the shorter (although not by much) Clara. "Acting Major. You?"

"Art and the history there of," she shared.

"Alright, now that we know some stuff about each other," an obviously excited Alice declared with a dazzling smile. "What do you say about giving me a proper tour of the campus, roomie?"

"I only really know the way to my classes and the cafeteria," she apologized. "I transfered here just a few weeks ago and I'm still not that familiar with the area either. Sorry."

Alice smirked. "Well, guess that means we'll be exploring this city together, huh?"

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?" Clara sighed.

"Nope," the other girl shook her head.

"Fine," a reluntant Clara relented with a groan. "Let me put my stuff away, then we'll go."

"Yah!" Alice cheered, hopping up and down in one spot while clapping.

_Oh, I hate you already,_ the strawberry blonde thought, rolling her eyes at the olive skinned brunette's antics. She'd been so looking forward to just sitting on her bed with a book in her grasp and music blaring loudly in the background, but now Clara was stuck playing the part of welcoming committee to her new room mate. Fun!

"You know, if I hadn't forgotten my ID back in the room, we could so be half way to Drunksville right now," a slightly disappointed Alice complained two hours later, the pair strolling down the street with no real destination in mind. "Not that I need alcohol to have fun, mind you. I just feel like cutting loose, you know?" The new girl linked arms with Clara unexpectedly then, that deep dimpled grin from earlier re-appearing when the strawberry blonde shot a questiong glance at the olive skinned girl. "So you got a special somebody, roomie?"

"Not really," she shrugged.

"Oh, please, a sweet little hottie like you has got to have somebody to keep them warm at night," insisted the other girl. "Guy or girl? I'm not the judging type, just so you know."

"Just the nosey type, huh?" Clara snorted, her thoughts drifting to a certain dark-haired professor of their own accord. She raised an eyebrow when Alice began to laugh. "What?"

"From that dopey little smile you're wearing, there has definitely got to be somebody," her new roommate continued to press. "What's their name?"

The strawberry blonde was about to deny it, then decided to just shake her head. "Jess."

"Sounds sexy," the new girl teased.

"Oh, shut up," Clara laughed, playfully shoving the other girl. "And it's not like that with him."

Alice quirked an eyebrow. "So Jess is a guy, hmm?"

"You almost sound disappointed, roomie," she teased.

"Maybe I am, roomie," the olive skinned girl returned with a smirk, her brown eyes meeting Clara's blue for a moment before they both began to laugh. After they both recovered from their giggle fit, the pair of college students continued their stroll for another half hour or so until deciding to head back to the dorm for the night. They had returned to the room, each gotten ready for bed and Clara was just about to fall asleep when her new roommate decided that she wanted to talk.

"What was that?" Clara groaned.

"I asked that if it isn't _that_ way with this Jess guy," repeated Alice from across the room. "Then how exactly is it?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, Alice, but that's none your business," the strawberry blonde muttered. "Now go to sleep."

"If I could sleep, I wouldn't be bothering you," the acting major stated. "Now would I?"

_Just when I was starting to like you,_ Clara sighed, eyes now once again open.

"Well?"

"He's my Creative Writing instructor," she explained, laying back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Really? An older man? How scandalous," Alice teased.

"He's not that much older than me," Clara defended while turning onto her side to face the other girl, who was now sitting much in the same fashion she'd been in when the art major had first found her, cross-legged on top of her bed with that wide beaming grin still visible even in the dimlight of the one single lamp on the desktop. Seeing her new roommate's rich brown eyes full of much expectation, Clara couldn't bring herself to disappoint the girl. That and damn was she ever tired. The sooner this was finished, the sooner Clara could just go to sleep. "He used to go to high school with my brother back in Stars Hollow. So, no, Jess isn't some pervy old man."

"Well, even if he were, you really seem to like him," the olive skinned girl commented. "And that's all that matters, right?"

"Yeah, too bad it isn't mutual," Clara sighed, thinking back on her last few Creative Writing classes. Aside the amiable way they had interacted when her sister Samantha had visited, Jess had kept true to his word on their interactions only being in class from then on. It was both fascinating and frustrating to discover that Jess had become an actual adult, instead of the rebellious teenager who fought with Dean over the affections of Rory Gilmore. She briefly wondered if Jess had moved on from Rory, or if he still carried a torch for the fickle girl like Clara suspected her brother still did. It would suck hardcore if Jess still did.

Alice quirked an eyebrow at her. "You sure about that?"

_I don't know why I let Alice talk me into doing this,_ Clara frowned while stepping into her Creative Writing the following Monday morning. It wasn't like it would make any difference anyway. Besides Clara was in college to learn, not nurture an old school girl crush!

Her decision made the junior pulled the hood of her green jacket up over her hair and let out a yawn before heading to her usual seat, pushing her black rimmed glasses (she'd misplaced her contacts that morning) up as they began to slip down Clara's nose. Clara had just pulled her binder from her bag and opened it up when the dark haired instructor entered the class room.

"Alright, people," he said without any preamble. "First things first. Turn off your phones, eyes forward, and hoods off. Forester, Kelly, Davis. That last one means you three."

"Sorry," grunted a skinny guy from the front row, who Clara deduced to be either Kelly or Davis before she also did as Jess had requested. She brushed her recently cinnamon colored hair away from her glasses, then turned her attention forward to her ever stoic instructor. A satisfied Jess then began the lesson as per usual, not giving Clara any particular attention. As per usual. The now slightly darker haired Clara shrugged it off and decided to get down to business, glad to have a definite answer to if Jess was interested in her or not.

"...and that's why you should never trust a camel," Jess finished as the class came to an end, which brought several chuckles from his students. "Alright, that's it for today, people. Remember, I want an outline for that short story I assigned you Friday on my desk by the beginning of next class, or you will be docked marks. Now get out of here."

_Well, that was certainly an interesting class,_ Clara thought in amusement, her teal colored binder shut and shoved into her bag in record time. She had just reached the front of the class with her already finished assignment to hand in when Jess looked up to meet her gaze.

"Finished already, Miss Forester?" Jess asked, still the stoic professional.

"Yes, sir," Clara returned curtly, laying down the assignment on the desk before spinning on her heel in order to leave. She had just started to leave when her instructor said something under his breath that caught Clara's attention, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. Did he just say something about liking her hair? Damn, she owed Alice twenty dollars! "What was that, Mr. Mariano?"

"I said," he began in an uncertain tone. "I think you're doing a great job so far."

"Thanks," Clara smirked at the blatant lie, then continued on her way until reaching the door. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "For both compliments, I mean."

_So much for thinking that he wasn't interested anymore,_ Clara thought while walking out into the hall, a cheshire grin now plastered on her face.

**End scene.**

**Yeah, that chapter kind of meandered all over the place, didn't it? Sorry about that. Any way, if you need a visual on how Alice looks just picture Jana Kramer since that's who I have in mind when writing her.**

**Thanks for reading, now please review.**

**Track 7 - 'How You Like Me Now' by The Heavy (from 'The House That Dirt Built')**


	8. Young Folks

_A/N - Like the last chapter, this one meanders about but it does serve a purpose. Hope you guys like it despite it being more or less filler._

**8 - Young Folks**

"Did you know that those crazy Canadians have their Thanksgiving in October?" Alice asked out of nowhere, the olive skinned beauty staring out the window. "I wonder why that is? Don't you wonder why that is, roomie?"

"Most of Canada gets winter almost a full month before we do, which means they have a sooner harvest," explained Clara in a dull tone. She paused in brief consideration, the book in her grasp now closed. "At least, I think that's how it works." The red-haired junior glanced over at her brooding roommate, who'd been acting rather out of character the last week or so. "Why the sudden interest in Thankgiving? Which, by the way, is more than two weeks away?""

Alice sighed. "My mom phoned today."

"Yeah? What'd she say?" Clara frowned.

"Well, we, as in my parents and I, usually visit my grandparents in Texas, but we won't be doing that this year since my folks have up and decided to get divorced," her new friend and living partner muttered bitterly. "Stupid Daddy! Why'd he have to go and knock up his secretary like that? I mean, she's only three years older than me! What the hell, man?"

_That explains why you haven't been your usual bouncy, annoying self these last few days,_ Clara realized, feeling genuinely sympathetic for the girl across the room from her. "That sucks."

"I know," said Alice, miserable. "I'm just glad that I'm their only child and don't have to worry about my tuition not getting paid." She frowned. "Damn, that sounded selfish."

"If you ask me, you have every right to be selfish," Clara stated, their gazes meeting across the short divide between their beds. "I mean, I'm assuming that your dad is the only one who cheated?"

"As far as I know," Alice nodded in confirmation.

"Then don't worry about being selfish," she said, once again leaning back against her propped up pillows. "Because he obviously wasn't thinking about your feelings when he was putting it to his secretary."

"You know what, roomie? You're absolutely right," the other girl declared, once more sounding as annoyingly chipper as when Clara had first met her. "I say we go out tonight and get completely smashed, compliments of Daddy's Gold card!"

"Oh, boy," Clara sighed in resignation, unable to refuse Alice's suggestion after hearing what she just heard. What sort of person would that make Clara if she refused a friend in need? "Fine! But I'm picking the bar."

"As long as there's a dance floor, I don't really care where we go," her now much happier looking roommate grinned. "Now let's get glammed up, roomie!"

_These heels are killing me,_ an uncomfortable Clara internally complained several hours later, feeling completely out of place inside the dance club where the two girls had ended up at. After locating the other girl dancing with some guy on the dance floor as a point of reference, the Art major decided to find a stool in order to rest her aching feet for a moment. It wasn't even thirty seconds before a young man around Clara's age approached her with drink in hand, his intention obvious to anybody with a functioning brain. _Oh, goody!_

The young man smiled in what he probably thought was a charming fashion, the drink he'd been carrying now placed on the bar in front of Clara. "Hey, don't we have a class together?"

"Wow, how original," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "That work often for you?"

"No, I'm being completely serious," he stated without missing a beat, undeterred by her obvious disinterest. "Creative Writing, right? Mister Mariano's class?"

_Okay, that got my interest,_ Clara thought in surprise. Then again, anything to do with Jess usually caught her interest but that was besides the point. "Really now?"

"Yeah, I'm Miles Davis," he introduced himself, only to lift his hand up in defense. "And before you ask, no, my parents were not huge jazz fans. It was my maternal grandfather's name."

"Well, I suppose if you were going to be named after a musician though," she smirked at him. "It might as well be a legend, right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Miles grinned. "And what would your name be?"

The college junior was tempted to lie, but instead chose to go with the truth. The guy deserved at least that for making the effort of coming over to speak with her. "I'm Clara. It's nice to meet you, Miles."

"The pleasure is all mine, Clara," he said, his face lighting up.

"Roomie, I don't feel so hot," declared Alice, the olive skinned girl appearing as though out of nowhere. "Can we go home now?"

"Well, it looks like my friend has finally had enough fun and is ready to leave," a smirking Clara told the boy who'd been trying to mack on her. "See you in class, Jazz Man."

"Um, bye," Miles practically whimpered in defeat, barely audible over the dance music.

After spending the rest of the night assisting her dorm-mate puke her guts out in the washroom, which was followed by the olive skinned girl crying her heart out on how terrible her dad was for cheating on her mother, an exhausted Clara tried to fall asleep despite still wearing the clothes she'd worn to the night club. She glaced over at her now snoozing friend and wondered what the girl's plans would be now that her usual trip to Texas was cancelled. A split second following that thought, a tired Clara got an idea and decided to put it forth to Alice once the other girl was sober enough to give the youngest Forester a coherent answer.

"I hope I don't regret this," she muttered before finally falling asleep.

When Clara woke up the next morning, she found that Alice had already gone somewhere and that it was nearly ten o'clock. If she didn't get her butt out of bed and moving right then and there, Clara would be late for her first class of the day. And since the class in question was Creative Writing, that was something she really wanted to avoid from happening. So following a quick facial scrubbing and a somewhat ineffectual brushing of her cinnemon colored hair, the college junior arrived at the class just in the nick of time as Jess, sorry, Mr. Mariano was about to shut the door.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you, Mini-Forester?" he smirked.

"I'm here though, aren't I?" she challenged with a flirty grin.

"Loving the hair style, by the way," he chuckled. "Very Helena Bonham Carter of you. Only more reddish."

She laughed. "You really know how to make a girl feel pretty, Jess."

"It's a gift," Jess shrugged while ushering her inside so he could close the door. "And it's Mr. Mariano to you during school hours, Miss Forester. Now go sit down."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Mariano," she quietly taunted before sauntering over to her usual place, where Clara discovered the boy from the night club, Miles, was seated in the desk two spaces to the left of hers. She smiled and sent him a playful, little wave, then almost burst out laughing when he started to blush.

"Alright, people," Jess announced from the front of the class, once again capturing the red-head's attention. "Let's get this class started."

**End scene.**

**Heh-heh, Miles Davis. Well, I thought it was amusing. Not a lot of Cless interaction in this one, but that'll change in the coming chapters.**

**Anyhow, thanks for reading and please feel free to review.**

**Track 8 - 'Young Folks' by Peter, Bjorn & John (from 'Writer's Block')**

**P.S. - If anybody is wondering, 'A Different Sort of Rebel' will be updated sometime within the next week or so. I also updated 'Kismet'. Check them out. Or not. Whatever. Completely up to you, really. Until next time, peace out, yo.**


	9. Hot N' Cold

**9 - Hot N' Cold**

"Who here is familiar with the term, _Chekhov's Gun_? Anybody?" Jess asked his students, this class spent mostly as a review of what they'd gone over the duration of the course. Knowing the answer to this partcular question, Clara's hand shot up along side four others. For what seemed like the umpteenth time that class alone, Jess overlooked the red-head in favor of one of his other pupils. "Peters?"

_Big surprise,_ the youngest Forester frowned, slightly annoyed from being once again ignored by her would-be suitor. Well, if you could even call Jess that. He'd been running so hot and cold on Clara that she didn't really know what to think. One class he'd go out of his way to place her in the spotlight and let her shine, other classes Jess would completely and utterly disregard her existence. Sometimes after class she'd catch him checking her out, while others he wouldn't even look up from his laptop. He was without a doubt the most infuriating and intriguing person Clara had ever encountered. If only he'd make his damned mind up already!

"Is there a problem, Miss Forester?"

"What? Um, no," a panicked Clara squeaked, unaware that she'd made a sound to draw attention to herself. She slinked down in her seat, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Thanks," Jess scoffed in dry amusement. Without any further preamble, he returned to speaking to the class. "Now, as I was saying before..."

_Smooth move, Forester,_ she slumped further down in her chair, now glad that her instructer-slash-crush had chosen to once more ignore her. _Not exactly how I wanted to get him to notice me, that's for sure!_

"Alright, people, that marks the end of our time together for today," announced Jess after glanging at his watch. "I'll be expecting all of your final projects after Thanksgiving break and then we'll never have to see each other again. Have a great holiday." As the entirety of his class began hustling out of the room, he quickly added in a voice just loud enough to be heard over his students' noisy egress. "Forester, Kelley, Peters. If you three could stay behind for a few, that'd be great."

"Oh, boy," the tall blonde girl with pink highlights in her hair remarked under her breath to Clara, who she only knew by last name. Which was Kelley, by the way. "I wonder what our beloved instructor wants with us?"

"It's nearly the final two weeks of the course, so I'm guessing it's related to that," reasoned the shorter girl, the pair of them joining their other classmate in short order. "That, or you were snoring too loud again."

"That was only one time," Kelley laughed.

"Well, if it has to do with being disruptive," inquired the third and final student who Jess had asked to stay behind. "Then why am I being held up?"

"Don't be a jag your whole life, Joff," the tall blonde sneered.

"Oh, shut up, you d-"

"Okay, settle down, you two," Jess intervened, seemingly all too used to playing mediator when it came to Kelley and Peters since they'd more or less been at each other's throat for the better part of the course. "We good now? Alright then," he nodded without waiting for a response. "Anyway, I suppose you three have better things you'll want to be doing, so I'll try to make this short and direct."

"That'd be a nice change of pace," Clara quipped, unable to resist taunting their writing instructor.

"Be quiet and let me talk, Forester," he chided with a smirk, to which she simply answered with a satisfied grin. "Now before Forester decides to interupt again," he stated as Clara let out a gasp in fake indignation, which went largely ignored by the other three people present. "I'm to inform you three that you're eligible for a small scholarship award for the student who shows the most promise at the end of the course."

"And how much is this small scholarship worth?" Kelley inquired, the tall bonde asking the question her two classmates were also wondering.

"I honestly forgot to ask," Jess answered, succinct. "What I do know is this. The winner of said scholarship also get the chance to be published by a local company, but I don't have all the minute details on that last one."

_Well, that's obviously a lie,_ Clara thought, wondering why Jess was hiding that last bit of information. It wasn't exactly a big secret that he co-owned a local publishing company, so why not disclose his involvement?

"Anyway, that's all I needed to tell you guys," the writing instructor declared, turning towards his desk. "So feel free to go about your business and have a Happy Thanksgiving."

"Thanks, you too, Mister Mariano," Kelley returned, the ever charming Joffrey Peters already having taken his leave of the conversation. The blonde glanced at Clara. "You wanna grab a coffee? I'll buy."

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. "I just have to ask Mr. Mariano something first. I'll be right out."

"Alright, don't take too long," the taller girl said before exitting the classroom. Clara stepped up to her writing instructor's desk, then calmly waited for him to acknowledge her presence.

"Is there something you need, Miss Forester?" Jess asked without glancing up from his laptop, the scene very reminscent of their first encounter several weeks earlier. Clara stood there not saying a word until Jess finally got the hint and looked up, his brown eyes met her blue ones. "Well?"

"What's with the hot and cold act?" Clara countered, deciding to just skip their usual preamble and dig into the heart of the matter.

Her tone caused him to frown. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean, Jess, is that you're sending me mixed signals and I'm rather quite sick of it," she clarified. "Now answer the question."

"It's Mr. Mariano in the classroom," he corrected her.

Clara rolled her eyes. "Whatever, just answer the question."

"I'm your course instructor," he reminded simply.

"Does it look like I care about that?"

"I'm older than you."

"Six years is not that wide a gap. Try again."

"Your brother hates me."

"So? I'm not overly fond of him or his opinion right now either."

"Oh, jeez," he groaned in exasperation. "Okay, let's try this another way. Hypothetically speaking, how do you think it would look if I started dating one of my students? Do you think they'd let me teach this course again if that happened? Not to mention all the accusations of favoritism that'll come up if said student ends up winning that scholarship after said student and I started dating."

"But you have thought about us, haven't you?" Clara asked.

"You're missing the point here," he sighed.

"Oh, no, I get what you're saying," she interupted. "But hypothetically speaking, if said student was no longer your student and they didn't end up winning that prize, then maybe...?"

"I can't answer that," Jess groaned again, clearly uncomfortable.

"You do realize, in a way, you just did, right?" Clara smiled.

He frowned up at her. "You're incorrigible."

"And you like me," she stated with confidence.

"Damn it, Clara," sighed Jess tiredly.

"Fine, you want to keep it on the DL, let's keep it on the DL," she said with an over exaggerated wink. "But when the course is over, we'll be talking about this again."

"Can't wait for that," he scoffed.

"Play hard to get all you want. I know the way of it now, Mr. Mariano," grinned Clara, turning away with a flourish. "See you after Thankgiving!"

"That girl's going to be the death of me," he muttered as Clara walked toward the exit, which caused her to laugh. A few short moments later had her joining Kelley, whose first name Clara decided she should really learn soon, at a nearby coffee kiosk. The tall blonde girl handed over a cup. Clara inhaled the familiar scent of her favorite drink, a smile coming to her lips in appreciation. "Hmm, chai. How'd you know?"

"It's all I ever see you drink when we're in class," her classmate explained.

"That's only when I have the time and money to grab one, you mean," she chuckled. "Thanks, by the way."

"No problem," Kelley smiled, the pair heading off in the same direction. Clara briefly wondered why until recalling that she had seen the tall blonde head this way everyday, though she had no idea what course or seminar Kelley was heading towards. "So, what class you have next?"

"The History of East Asian Art," answered Clara easily. "You?"

"None, I'm free until this afternoon, so I'm going to the library to catch up on some homework before I head home for the holidays," Kelley replied. "Speaking of, Thanksgiving plans?"

"I have to visit my parents in Stars Hollow," the shorter girl muttered, unenthused by the prospect. Ever since the whole Sam coming out fiasco last Easter and their parents less than stellar reactions to said coming out, Clara had very little patience where James and Lydia Forester were concerned. Add in the fact that Dean would probably be there, too, and it would be safe to say that her excitement level was practically nil.

The other girl raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm sensing some tension there."

"Yeah, that's the understatement of the year," she scoffed. "I'd much rather hang out with my sister over the holidays, but my mother used the 'we are paying for your school, so you are coming home for Thanksgiving' card on me." Clara brightened up. "Well, at least I'll have Alice to hang out with while I'm there."

"Girlfriend?" Kelley inquired.

"Roommate, whose family situation is way shittier than mine, if you can believe it," she explained, coming to a stop in front of her destination. "Anyway, this is me. Thanks again for the chai latte."

Her classmate smiled. "Anytime."

"Oh, before I forget," Clara smiled back. "What is your first name? It's weird calling people by their surnames. What am I? In the military or something?"

"You babble a lot," Kelley laughed before adding. "I like that. And it's Alex, by the way. Short for Alexandria. Which if you ever call me, I will have to kill you."

"That's fair, I suppose," she nodded at her new friend. "See you around, Alex."

"I certainly hope so," the taller girl said with an odd inflection.

It wasn't until halfway through her present course that Clara realized that her new friend was hitting on her. _Looks like Sammy isn't the only Forester fille able to attract the honeys,_ she smirked before returning her attention back to her instructor's lecture. Sam would be so proud!

The rest of the day went without incident and, before Clara knew it, she had arrived back at her dorm room to find an excited Alice all packed up and ready to go.

"You do realize we're not catching the bus until ten tomorrow morning, right?" Clara grinned at the other girl.

"Actually, there's been a change in plans, Clara Bear," came a familiar voice from the direction of the washroom. A voice that immediately caused her back to go rigid. Her roommate's initial excitement was quickly replaced by confusion. Concerned brown eyes met intense blue ones, silently asking what was going on. "Okay, what's with the whole silent conversation, you two?"

_And it was such a great day, too!_ Clara let out an exasperated sigh at the interruption, then turned towards her much taller and older brother with a narrowed gaze. "What are you doing here, Dean?"

**End scene.**

**Thanks for reading, now please review.**

**P.S. - Yeah, so I used a Katy Perry song for the chapter title. What of it? :P**


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